Taste of Place: Place-based foods in Iowa

"Place-based" foods connect the ecological production capacity of a region with the culture and traditions of its inhabitants. The regional, national, and global interest in "authenticity" make the identification of "food heritage areas" attractive to destination travelers, stimulating business and government investments in "taste of place." The use in recent years of terms such as terroir, place-based, heritage, and heirloom all point to the increasing value that people place on their foods' connecting in some way with the past as well as to a particular place. In order to begin the work of encouraging niche markets for these foods, the Leopold Center has funded the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to research and document a variety of place-based foods in Iowa.

Rachelle H. (Riki) Saltzman
Iowa Arts Council Department of Cultural Affairs
Phone: 515.242.6195
Email: riki.saltzman@iowa.gov